1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to delivery systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for combined mailing of diverse publications in a unique order.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous systems exist for binding and combined mailing of a variety of titles (e.g., magazines, catalogs, books, periodicals, and the like). In the past, two typical systems have been generally used to minimize postage rates paid to the United States Postal Service (USPS) in order to mail the titles. That is, volume discounts may be utilized by using two conventional systems: (1) a bindery and presort system that binds the titles and sorts a list of addresses for a single title (for example, titles may be magazines such as Time®, Sports Illustrated®, etc.) to the finest extent possible to take advantage of reductions in mail rates provided by the USPS for sorting various titles; and (2) a combined mailing and presort system generally known as “co-mailing” which is the merging of multiple titles to again take advantage of bulk rates provided by the USPS for the combining of multiple, as opposed to a single, titles and therefore higher volume.
While the bindery and presort system and the co-mailing and presort systems have reduced mail rates paid to the USPS for mailing the titles, each of these systems contain limitations that limit even further reductions in the mail rate paid to the USPS for delivering these titles. To properly understand these limitations, the two systems shall first be described with reference to prior art FIGS. 1 and 2.
Bindery with Presort System
Prior art FIG. 1 is a block diagram view of a bindery and presort system. In prior art FIG. 1, an address file 101, containing a multitude of addressee records 105, are fed to a presort module 110. The addressee records 105 generally contain delivery data including the name, city, street, street number, state and zip code of a recipient of a title. In addition, the address record 105 may also contain specific demographics of an intended recipient such as the age, gender, income, order history or other type of information that uniquely identifies the recipient. Further, the address record 105 may include instructions for content placement of printed information on the title and a PostNet bar code 106 that is an automated representation of the mailing information contained in the address record 105. The PostNet bar code 106 is placed on the title to facilitate delivery of the title along with delivery data to expedite delivery of the title by the USPS.
Still in prior art FIG. 1, the presort module 110 receives the address file 101 and sorts the address file 101 into three postal rate categories which are displayed as ECR 135, five-digit zip code 140 and three-digit zip code 145. ECR 135, commonly known as Enhanced Carrier Route 135, describes a mail rate category provided by the USPS where titles that are part of a group of ten or more titles addressed to one USPS delivery carrier route (prepared in line of travel or walk sequence order) are provided a discount rate. Likewise, five-digit zip code 140 provides a similar discount rate structure for titles that are not of sufficient quantity to qualify for the ECR 135 category, but are within the same five-digit zip code category (where ten or more titles destined for the same five-digit zip code are packaged together). Similarly, three-digit zip code 145 provides discounts for titles that are packaged if ten or more of the titles are sent to the same three-digit zip code prefix. The result of this sorting is that the mail rate data is determined for each record and attached to each record in an Optional Endorsement Line (OEL) field. The address records are in the sequence required by the USPS for those rates. Thus, at this point, the bindery and presort system 100 of FIG. 1 has received the address files 101 and presorted the address files in the presort module 110 into the ECR 135, five digit zip 140 and three-digit zip 145 categories. Then, the presort module 110 sends the sorted address file to the bind and print 120.
The bind and print 120 receives multiple signatures (sheets that make up a title) 115 and binds the titles (using well-known techniques) and then prints the address file 101, one record per piece, onto the titles. After the bind and print 120, which results in the sample printed address file 131 that is placed inside or outside of the title, the titles are bundled by rate class at 155 and then sent to the USPS at 130.
A benefit of the bindery and presort system 100 is that the presort module 110 is sent directly to the bind and print 120 that is able to use all of the information contained in the sorted address file, which includes the demographics for each recipient. Thus, as the signatures 115 are received by the bind and print 120, the demographic information is also received by the bind and print 120 so that two benefits are realized: (1) the mix of signatures 115 may be customized to the recipients based on the recipient's demographics (e.g., a woman aged 35 may receive specific signatures containing an advertisement for women's clothes, while a male teenager may receive an advertisement for rock music); and (2) customized information particular to each individual recipient may be printed within as well as outside of the title (e.g., the address information of the recipient may be printed on an inside signature (containing a return order form) of the title as well as on the outside cover of the title).
This customization aspect available in the bindery and presort system 100 is a highly desirable aspect of this system since many publishers of the titles wish to specifically target recipients to the furthest extent possible. Furthermore, the presort available with this system 100 minimizes, to a certain degree, the postage rates being paid to the USPS by bundling titles to a similar ECR 135, five-digit zip 140 or three-digit zip 145. Even further, the titles may be bundled after binding without additional handling.
However, a need exists with the system 100 to further reduce postage paid to the USPS by achieving higher volume discounts in a bindery and presort system 100. Thus, a need exists to combine the customization aspect of the system 100 with a greater volume discount to minimize postage paid to the USPS available for higher volume of bundled titles.
Co-mailer with Presort
Prior art FIG. 2 is a block diagram view of a co-mailer with presort system. Co-mailing or combined mailing is similar to the bindery and presort system 100 of prior art FIG. 1, but instead of a single title being presorted and bound as shown in prior art FIG. 1, the co-mailer and presort system 200 of prior art FIG. 2 combines multiple titles in order to achieve a higher volume discount of postage paid to a USPS for mailing the titles. However, as will be apparent in describing prior art FIG. 2, the co-mailer and presort system 200 has the limitation of not being able to customize the titles being co-mailed since no demographics for each of the recipients is being utilized by the system 200. Thus, the system 200 is co-mailing identical multiple copies of different titles that have no demographic customization whatsoever.
In prior art FIG. 2, multiple address files, address file # 1 217 and address file # 2 216, are being merged at merge 215 into one master address file list. Each address file represents the multiple recipients for one title, with multiple titles being merged at merge 215 that are being sent to the co-mail and print 225. This is exemplified by the records 205, 210. Thus, while the bindery with presort of prior art FIG. 1 only presorted and bound one title at a time, the co-mailer with presort system 200 combines multiple titles in order to achieve a higher volume discount on postage rates.
Once the address files # 1 217, # 2 216 and so on are merged at merge 215, that merged file is sent to a presort 220 that, much like the presort module 110 of system 100, sorts the merged address file by postal category such as ECR 135, five-digit zip 140 and three-digit zip 145. The sorted merged address file is then sent to the controller 224 in the co-mail and print 225.
Also being sent to the co-mail and print 225, and completely separate from the sorted merged address file, are the multiple titles being generated by signatures 230 and 231 and being bound at separate binderies at bindery 232 and bindery 233. It is noted that the separate titles being generated at binderies 232 and 233 are generic, that is, there is no customization by demographics being done during the binding of the titles at the bindery 232 and 233. Furthermore, the titles bound at the bindery stage 234 have no predetermined order, but instead are generic titles being bound. The order of these bound titles are wholly independent of the order of the address files being sequenced at the Presort 220. Understandably, due to this unrelated order of titles being generated between the binding stage 234 and the presort 220, the two subsystems cannot interact to customize the titles to particular recipients. Thus, as those titles are received by the co-mail and print 225, the sorted merged address file also being sent to the co-mail and print 225 is printed on identical and generic multiple titles being received by the co-mail and print 225.
It is therefore apparent from this description that only generic titles may be used with the system 200. While higher volume discounts for postage paid to the USPS are available since multiple address files have been merged, customization of individual titles is not possible. Signatures cannot therefore be varied by the demographics for particular recipients and printing of customized information on the outside and/or inside of the title for specific recipients is not available. Still in prior art FIG. 2, a portion of the address file printed on the individual titles is shown at 226 which is then bundled at 227 and sent to the USPS at 228.
A need therefore exists for a method and system for combined mailing of multiple titles that allows for customization of the titles as well as obtaining large volume discounts in postage paid to the USPS by co-mailing multiple titles.